1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to costume jewelry, and more particularly to a color changeable article of jewelry, such as an earring, which is adapted to display a color which matches the wearer's fingernail polish.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, owners of articles of jewelry such as colorful costume earrings and the like, were compelled to have a number of entirely different earrings, each of which was most complimentary to a particular color coordinated clothing ensemble.
Accordingly, if a woman desired to wear pink nail polish with a complimenting pair of earrings also displaying the same color as her nail polish, the only way that she could wear earrings displaying the same color as her nail polish with each color of nail polish would be to have a separate pair of earrings for each color of polish. Further, sometimes there is extreme difficulty finding earrings which match the myriad of colors of nail polish available today. Moreover, it has been commonplace for some time now for women to wear lipstick and nail polish which compliment each other with a matching color.
As early as 1934, Hamberg invented an artificial colorable fingernail, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,942,332. Hamberg provided a member shaped similar to a fingernail which could be mounted upon the natural fingernail and attached thereto by any suitable securing means such as glue, the member being formed as the exterior thereof to project beyond the end of the finger. The Hamberg nail was adapted to have a portion thereof selectively colored and the remaining portion thereof either colored or uncolored so as to simulate a relatively long pointed fingernail.
Lawrence in U.S. Pat. No. 3,605,438 entitled "Bar Pen with Changeable Non-Rotably Secured Ornament in Intermediate Member" as issued on Sept. 20, 1971, provided an article of jewely such as an earring which could be converted or modified from time to time. This provided a more utilitarian earring which could be worn more frequently without any feeling of repetition and without the user's peers realizing that it was the same article. Lawrence provided an earring which was convertible wherein the central portion thereof, which could consist of diamonds, sapphires, opals or the like, could be utilized with a multiplicity of decorative bases so as to be usable with a greater variety of clothing.
Van Deusen, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,912 issued on Jan. 15, 1974 and entitled "Jewely Design Kit and Method for Design", provided a jewelry design and coloring kit and method for designing jewelry comprising of a plurality of transfer sheets, each sheet containing a plurality of jewelry elements such as, for example, diamonds, pearls, etc.; a means for transferring the jewels from the transfer sheets to a work sheet; and a plurality of pens utilized for coloring the jewelry.
Berry, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,185 issued on Aug. 13, 1985 entitled "Ear Frame", provided an earring having an interchangeable message card on one side of a pad suspended from a chain led by a clip from a wearer's ear.
As evinced by the foregoing, purchasers of jewelry in recent years have increasingly demanded personalized service and exclusive creations.
There is a need in the costume jewelry and cosmetic business to provide a means for enabling a woman to readily create an earring which either closely matches her clothing, her fingernail polish, and/or her lipstick. The present invention satisfies this need. It overcomes the limitations and shortcomings of the prior art by a novel earring design kit and method of design which substantially satisfies the need in the market place for earrings which match in color other painting applied to portions of a woman's body.
The present invention can also be of substantial benefit to the professional designer in the jewelry field or to the cosmetics designer in that it provides an additional marketing line and market concept. The novel invention addresses the need for intricate, yet unique, painting of earrings by the user with an appropriate color to match the lipstick and/or fingernail polish. In addition, the method and kit of the present invention are simple and convenient.